August 20, 2021
Siska Larson - CPC Missions Chair
Go To All Nations
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
It was quite a long drive to a small city in an undisclosed place in Indonesia, where a group of Christians, whom CPC has sponsored for years, share Christ’s love to Muslims living around them. After about 3 hours drive in the heat and crazy traffic, we finally arrived. We were welcomed by the team and were given a grand tour of their small two-story office where they plan, strategize, train team members, and most importantly, pray for their witness to the Muslims.
We met with the team and heard stories about how they would share the Gospel to people and receive various responses. We asked the leader of the team what was the scariest response, and Mr. T said that usually people are open and welcoming; and they do not face serious resistance other than being kicked out of the house and getting a punch or two. We were surprised that Mr. T thinks being kicked out of someone’s house and getting a punch or two is not serious, something they would risk getting on a regular basis.
So we asked him why we have to share God’s love to people who often challenge our faith and consider us their enemies. Why would we want to come to someone’s home risking rejection and even physical harm? The answer was:
2 Corinthians 2:15
“He (Christ) died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”
Mr. T sensed the calling to share Christ’s love to the Muslims. Of course we can’t know in advance how people will respond, but we still need to share with them the hope that as the Holy Spirit leads, we will meet those who will believe the Gospel, and will be adopted to God’s family through Christ. It is the great love of Christ that we want to share, by doing the simple act of going to where people are, building relations, and sharing the love and truth of Jesus with them.
As we are living our mission statement as a church, to connect people to Christ through small acts of great love, we may receive warm thanks and build friendships. However, we may also experience rejections or being mocked for our faith in Jesus. It is not easy for us since we want to be welcomed and to be liked. However, since Jesus was willing to come to us, and took on the rejections, and even paid the price on the cross, we can have the courage to risk rejections of any kind, with the hope that through His power and grace, we connect some people to Christ.
Let us not lose heart, since Jesus promised us that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us; and we will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Please continue to pray for our many missionaries. To see a list of the missionaries CPC supports, click here. Thank you for faithfully supporting CPC so that we can continue to support the great commission locally and globally!
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